When she sensed he was becoming bored with the game, she picked him up and took him back inside. One glance at the clock and she was astonished to find that the afternoon had gone and it was now four-thirty.

Once more she inspected the cupboards and found the ingredients for a mushroom lasagna. When it was in the oven, she quickly made a salad and had just put it back in the fridge, when the phone rang. It was Russ saying he was just leaving the office and would pick up something for dinner on the way home.

"No need. There's a salad in the fridge and a lasagna in the oven. The wine is chilling and Mr. Coffee is now my new best friend. See you when you get here."

"And she cooks as well." Russ hung up and Melanie wondered to herself - as well as what? By the time Russ arrived, she had set the table and had the wine glasses out.

"Honey, I'm home!" He called out to her as he came through the door. "Wow! I could get used to this. I may have to plan lots of trips away."

"I'm beginning to think that the gift of a kitten was a little self-serving on your part. But then a fine upstanding gentleman like yourself would never sink so low, right?"

"That's very true. Let me go wash up and then you can tell me all about your day, over a glass of wine."

She did just that, telling him about her game of hide-and-seek with Mr. Coffee, after he had become comfortable with her.

"We have been doing that for the past few days. He's helping me keep in shape. I'm surprised he accepted you so quickly. It took me about three days and a lot of treats before I could even rub his belly. By the way, I have some good news or bad news, depending on your feelings about this babysitting business. I have to leave on Monday to visit some sites, and then attend a conference, so I won't be back until Thursday evening. Can you handle that? You wouldn't need to be here until after work on Monday."

"Sure. No problem. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end. It will give Mr. Coffee time to get used to me. How did you come up with his name?" Melanie had been meaning to ask him before now.

"I thought of you, I looked at his coat, and I remembered our first meeting. It just seemed to fit. You can change it if you like. It's probably not too ingrained into his psyche yet."




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